Apparatus for filling kegs with beer



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. 0. MUSSEL.

APPARATUS FOR FILLING KEGS WITH BEER. No. 331,251. Patented Nov. 24, 1 885.

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APPARATUS FOR FILLING KEGS WITH BEER. No. 331,251.

Patented Nov. 24. 1885.

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APPARATUS FOR FILLING KETGS WITH BEER.

No. 331,251. 2 Patented Nov. 24. 1885.

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APPARATUS FOR FILLING KEGS WITH BEER. No. 331,251.

Patented Nov. 24. 1885.

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APPARATUS FOR FlLLlNG KEGS Wi'l'l-i EER.

EJPEGIFIGATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,251, dated November 24:, 18 85.

Application filed February 5, 1885.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OHRISTOPH MtissEL, re siding at South Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Indiana, and a citizen of the United States, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Filling Kcgs, &c., with Beer, of which the following is afull description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2, a front elevation; Fig. 3, a top or plan view of the bottom piece, with the corner posts or uprights in section; Fig. 4, a top or plan view of the supply-head for the beer, showing a section of the keg; Fig. 5, a detail of the rod for driving in the cork or plug; Fig. 6, a detail showing thesight-glass forthebcer-hose; Fig. 7, a crosssection through the supply-head for the beer; Fig. 8, a longitudinal section through the tube carrying the cork or plug, showing the rod for driving the cork or plug into place; Fig. 9, a detail, partly in section, of the supply-head for the beer with the holding-arms removed; Fig. 10, a detail showing the ropes and weights therefor, by which the pressure is applied for holding the beer and air supply heads firmly in position against the keg.

The object of this invention is to supply beer to kegs, barrels, 82c, for filling the same with out the formation of foam in the keg or other receptacle, as is now the case. This I accomplish in the manner and by the means hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, A represents the corner posts or uprights of a frame-work, the posts, as shown, being united at their upper ends by suitable cross-pieces, A, and at their lower ends by suitable cross-pieces, A, which pieces, in the form of construction shown, rest upon the floor or other support.

B is a board, having in the front edge a recess or cut-away portion, B, of sufficient diameter for the reception of the end of a keg, barrel, or other receptacle to be filled, and this recess or cut-away portion has arounded rear wall or support, the circle of which corresponds to the circle of the keg or other receptacle placed therein, and, as shown, a corresponding board, B, is provided, forming a table to receive the air-supplying devices when Serial No. 155,040. (No model.)

not in use, which board may be provided with a recess or cut-away portion to correspond with the recess or cut-away portion B.

0 is the keg or other receptacle to be filled, the lower end of which is held in the recess in the board B, and the upper end in the recess, when provided,in the board B, and, as shown, the uprights A are each provided with aseries of holes to receive pins for maintaining the upper board in a plane to properly receive the air-supply devices for the upper end of the keg or other receptacle.

D is a head, made of brass or other suitable material, and having a central longitudinal opening through its interior, and having on its exterior a side extension, d, and a circumferential rim or flange, d. The forward end,

b, of this head D is encircled by a packing, b,

of rubber or other suitable material, which extends over the end and around the sides of b, and the keg around the filling-opening c is provided with a recess, a, into which the packing 1) enters to produce a tight fit and a close joint between the keg O and the head I), and when the parts are in position the opening in the head is in line, or nearly so, with the opening 0 in the keg. The rear end of the head D is screw-threaded to receive a stuffing-box, D, and through this stuifing-box passes a tube, D, the forward end of which passes into the head, and this tube D has a central longitudinal opening, through which a cork or plug, (1'', for stopping the opening 0, is passed, which cork or plug d may be of wood or other suitable material, as usual, and this cork or plug is driven through the tube D and into the opening 0 by a rod, D which rod, as shown, is provided with an adjustable collar, 0?, to engage the end of the tube D and prevent the plug from being driven in too far, the collar d being moved forward or back on the rod, as required for the amount of driving to be given the plug (1.

E is an arm extending out on opposite sides of the head D,which arm, as shown, is formed from two bars bolted or riveted together, so as to have acircular opening at the center to receive the body of the head D; but the arm could be cast or otherwise formed from a single piece, and each side at its end is provided with a hook or half-eye, e, and when the parts are together the circular portion of the arm E comes in contact with the face of the flange or rim (1, so that by drawing on the arm the head will be pulled down to place to have the packing I) enter the recess a and produce an airtight joint.

F is the supply hose or conduit leading from the beervat (not shown) to the head I), and connected at the head end with the nip ple or extension (2 by a coupling, f, in which is a plug, f, by which the supply through the conduit can be shut off or allowed to flow, and, as shown, the conduit at some point in its length is provided with a sight-glass, F, connected with the conduit by suitable stuffing-boxes,f, and this conduit, as shown, is protected from breakage or injury by a cover, F, of wood or other material, and the object of this sight-glass is to enable the operator to see when the beer from the vat is passing through the conduit in a proper manner, to do which the cover or protector F can be raised fora sufficient length of time to observe the passage ofthe beer,and then dropped into place over the sightglass again.

Gris a draw-rope, the ends of which are attached, one to each hook e of the arms E, and this rope passes around a pulley, 9, located in a yoke, 9, connected with the end of a lever by a link, g, as shown in Fig. 1, the pulley being located in a central line with the head D, so as to draw uniformly on both ends of the arm E and draw and hold the head D in a straight line with reference to the recess a.

H is the lever, to the lower end of which the pulley g is connected by the yoke g and link 9; This lever is pivoted by a suitable pin or bolt, h, in the end ofa bracket or arm, H, attached to the frame-work, and its upper end, in the form of construct-ion shown, projects some distance above the top of the frame.

I is a rope, one end of which is secured in a hole, 1', in the upper end of the lever H, and the other end is secured in an eye, 6, of a weight, I, and this rope passes over a pulley, i, mounted in a pendant or bracket, I, attached to the ceiling or other support, so that the weight will hang clear and pull or draw on the upper end of the lever.-

J is a rope secured at one end in a hole, j, at the upper end of the lever H, and having attached to its other end a fork, j, in which is mounted apulley, j*, and this rope J passes over a pulley, j, mounted in a pendant or bracket, J, attached tothc ceiling or other support.

J is a rope running over the'pullcyj", to one end of which rope is attached a weight, J which weight is in proximity to the floor or other bottom support. The rope J at its other end is free, so that it can be readily attached to or detached from a hook or other device, so as to release the weight J and a1- low it to rest on the floor or other support, or hold such weight suspended.

K K K K" represent a head and other parts corresponding to the head and parts D D D D", but operating in connection with the head of the keg instead of the side, the engaging end of K being provided with a packing and entering a recess around the hole in the head in a manner corresponding to the attachment of the head D to the keg. and the drive-rod K is provided with an adjustable collar, 76, corresponding to the collar d of the drive-rod D".

L is the draw and holding arm or bar for the head K, having at each end hooks or half eyes Z, and similar in construction to the draw and holding arm or bar E.

M is a hose or conduit leading from an airsupply pump or reservoir (not shown) to the head K, and connected therewith by a coupling, similar to the connection of the hose or conduit F with the head D, and this conduit M is provided with a sight-tube, M", for the purpose of enabling the operator to see when the keg or receptacle is full, which is determined by the beer passing into the conduit M until it is visible in the sighttube lV N is a draw-rope, the ends of which are attached to the hooks Z of the draw and hold ing arm L. This rope passes from a hook, Z, down and around a pulley, 12, carried by a fork a attached to a hook or e *e a secured to the bottom rail or piece of the frame-work;

thence up and over a pulley attached to an operating'lever; thence down and around a pulley, a, corresponding to the first pulley n, and attached to the bottom piece in the same manner; thence up to have its other end attached to the hook Z at the opposite end of the arm or bar L, so that a uniform draw will be produced on the arm or bar L.

O is a lever pivotally mounted in the upper end of a standard, 0, extending up from the top rail of the frame, to which pulley is pivotally attached a fork, 0, which carries the wheel 0, over which the rope N passes; and this lever 0 at one end is provided with a weight, 0', which may be adjustably mounted on the lever, so as to he moved forward and back from the pivotal point to decrease or increase the pressure.

P is a rope having attached to one end a weight, P. This rope passes up and over a pulley-wheel, o, mounted in a fork, 0, attached to the end of the lever O by a link, 0, and thence down and around a pulley, 1), up and over a pulley, p, for its free end to be readily attached to or detached from a hook or other device on the frame-work, so that the rope can be drawn down or slacked up to operate the lever O. The unweighted end of the lever O is drawn down by pulling down on the rope P, and is held down with the required degree'of pressure by the weight P; and the object of this weight is to prevent an overdraw on the rope, by which damage might arise to the head K and its holding devices, the weight 1? being just sufficient to draw on the end of the lever with the required force to hold the head K firmly in position, and the lever is thrown up at its unweighted end as the rope I? is slacked by the weight O, for which purpose the weight 0 more than counterbalances the weight P, and the upward movement of the lever O at its unweighted end releases the head K from the pressure by which it is held in place, and in order to prevent a too sudden release the rope runs over the pulleys p and p.

Q is an upright, and Q a top piece forming a secondary frame for the attachment of the brackets and pulleys, by which the ropes are held and operated, and, as shown, the pulleys p and p are mounted in arms or brackets 12', attached to the upright Q. The upright Q, and the cross-piece Q might be the side wall and ceiling of a room.

The operation is as follows: The keg or other receptacle is placed in position to have its lower end held by the board B and its upper end by the board 13. 'When such board is recessed, the head D is brought in position to have its end I), with the packing b thereon, enter the recess a around the fillingopening c, and the rope J is drawn down, lifting the weight J and holding it suspended, which weight draws on the rope J and pulls inward the upper end of the lever H, throwing the lower end of such lever outward, drawing on the rope G, which pulls against the arm or bar E and holds the head D firmly in position to maintain an airtight joint .between the headand the keg or other receptacle. The hose or conduit connected with the head D is opened to allow the beer to flow, by turning the cock or plug f, and the beer from the vat (not shown) passes through the con duit F into the head D, and through the opening 0 into the keg, its passage in the opposite direction being prevented by the plug (1 in the tube D and the stuffing-box D, which make a tight joint for the head D. The head K is placed in position before the beer is let on, to have its forward end enter the recess and make a tight joint between the head and the keg or receptacle, and when the end is inserted in place the operator draws down on the rope P, drawing down the unweighted end of the lever O and throwing up the weighted end thereof, drawing up the rope N and pulling down on the arm or bar L, holding the head K firmly in position with the required amount of pressure from the weight P, and after the levers H and 0 are brought into position to hold the heads D and K firmly in place the free ends of the ropes J and P are secured to their respective pins, hooks, or other fastening device; the connection between the conduit M and the head K is opened for the passage of air from the pump or other supply source, (not shown,) and the beer and air both enter the keg or other receptacle simultaneously, the beer'passing through the conduit F and the air through the conduit M. The supply of beer and air is continuous until the operator can see the beer in the sightglass M, when the rod D is inserted in the guide-tube Dand the plug d driven or forced into place in the hole 0, closing the keg at that end, and the rod K is inserted in the guide-tube K", and the plug in such tube driven or forced into the hole in the head, closing the keg at that point, and when closed the beer in the keg will be charged with air under pressure, and at the same time the frothy appearance when the beer is drawn will not occur, and the keg will be full of beer, instead of being charged with a quantity of froth which will disappear, leaving the keg only partly filled, as is now the case with the practice in vogue in filling kegs and other receptacles with beer.

The table B, as shown, is not recessed, but is arranged to stand in proximity to the side of the receptacle, as shown in Fig. 1, and for the purpose of receiving the air-supply devices when not in use. Such arrangement of the table is all that is required, and as the keg or receptacle will be sufficiently firm without being held at the top the table B need not necessarily encircle the top of the keg or other receptacle. The weights J and P act to maintain a uniform pressure on the arms E and L, respectively, and they also take up any slack in the draw-ropes and enable the supply-heads to be brought in contact wit-h differentsized receptacles without increase in the pressure by which the heads are held in position, and when the device is in use the weights, being suspended, will exert a uniform draw, enabling the same levers to be used with the same motion and effect on kegs of all sizes, as well as on barrels, halfbarrels, and other receptacles; and the weights also act to take up any lost motion in the levers in adapting the levers to different sized receptacles, and also prevent any ill effects in stretching or slacking of the ropes from any cause.

WVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The head D and draw or holding arm or rod E, carried by the filling-head and having a direct bearing thereon, in combination with the slack or take-up rope G and the operatinglever H, for maintaining a close connection between the filling-head and the receptacle to be filled, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The head D and arm or bar E, in combination with the rope G, lever H, weighted rope I, rope J and weighted rope J, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

8. The filling-head K and draw or holding bar or arm L, carried by the filling-head and having a direct bearing thereon, in combination with the slack or take-up rope M and lever O, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. The head K and draw and holding arm or neously to supply, beer and air to a keg or bar L, in combination with the rope N Weightother receptacle, substantially as and for the 10 ed lever O, and weighted rope P, substantially purpose specified. as and for the ur oses ecified.

5. A filling a zid guppl? head for beer, and a CHRISTOPH MUSSEL' filling and supply head for air, both located to communicate at different points with the vessel to be filled, and both acting simulta- Witnesses:

E. L. ABBOTT, GODFREY L. POEHLMAN. 

